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As I write this report, I am back home safely having landed in Oklahoma City last night. Leslie and I went to see my Dad in the rehabilitation facility upon my arrival. He had much better strength and better spirits than when I left. We are very glad to see him more comfortable and we appreciate so many prayers on his behalf. Mom is also doing better with Dad's condition improved. She will continue to be staying with us for some time.
The last few days of my trip to the Philippines did not go as planned. After preaching with Ely Ebuenga amidst rain in the northern part of Caloocan on Monday, I returned home by taxi as the rain increased steadily. That night, however, things got much worse. Rain and winds increased through the night as a weak typhoon moved in. From what I understood of weather reports over the next few days, there were six different typhoons or tropical systems that affected weather during my trip from August 8-23. From my perspective, it just seemed like one long rainy period with very few times of brief clearing.
On Tuesday, I awoke to news reports of massive flooding throughout the Manila area. There were almost no taxis available all day on Tuesday in Pasay where I stayed as travel was impossible. From the hotel, I could see the Philippine Army moving in amphibious vehicles as a state of emergency was declared throughout the area. There was some loss of life with the floods across metro Manila. Though I have lived through hurricanes and tropical systems on the Gulf coast for many years, I have never seen rain as hard as I saw repeatedly over the next few days. There were times when I could not see the ground from my seventh floor window because the rain totally blocked it out. Since I had already paid the venue costs for the lectures on Tuesday, Ely Ebuenga and some other brethren were able to get there and preach. One soul responded to the invitation and was baptized at the time -- another decided to be baptized later.
On Wednesday, I was scheduled to go to the prison in Muntinlupa for the Bible study with Willie Pastor and other brethren at RDC. With high water still being a problem and more rain forecast, that trip also had to be cancelled. The work in the New Bilibid prison is a matter of grave concern for me. Though I hoped some progress had been made in dealing with these problems, the last few days brought great grief to me as those efforts seem to have been largely in vain. Please continue to pray for the situation to improve. Willie Pastor continues to do a great work from the inside by reaching many souls with the truth while being imprisoned for what would have been a clear case of self-defense in this country. The good news is that a new law passed means that Willie will almost certainly be released very soon. The bad news is that his stabilizing influence in that work will be greatly missed upon his release.
Ely Ebuenga managed to make it to my hotel during a brief lull in the storms on Wednesday and was given some funds provided by individuals for use at my discretion. The funds were to provide benevolent help for brethren in the area. Though it was expected that the rain would stop on Wednesday afternoon, that turned out to be far from the truth. Winds and rains increased again that night.
Thursday was my planned day of rest before flying home on Friday. My efforts failed to reach several brethren in the Navotas area about reports of very bad flooding there. Efforts to reach brethren in other areas were also largely unsuccessful as communication seemed to be a problem due to the rains and floods. I was finally able to talk with Rody Gumpad about what he knew of the flooding in the area. He told me about those in the area that were in hardship from the floods as well as confirming his inability to contact some area brethren that I had been unable to reach. (We did finally reach one from the Navotas area that night while eating supper.) After getting updated on the situation with others, I asked Rody about the situation around the Pasay apartment where he and Tessie are staying. I found out they were without water or electricity and that condition was expected to remain until next week. I asked them to eat with me that night and they did so. I left Rody with the remaining discretionary funds I had to use in meeting benevolent needs in as far as possible.
As I left Manila on Friday morning, another tropical system was moving into the area. We had about 45 minutes of strong turbulence before we were finally clear from the storm. Please pray for the brethren in and around Manila (as well as other areas) that continue to be affected by these conditions.
There were seven baptisms while we were working at the various places. However, as is typically the case, more baptisms occurred at those places after our departure. For instance, three were baptized at the conclusion of the lectures in Bogo on Cebu, but Jonathan Carino has reported and additional six of the attendees were baptized as a result of follow-up work by our Filipino brethren. Though I am not sure of the exact number of baptisms from similar follow-up work already done at the places we visited, it appears at least ten additional baptisms have taken place as people counted the cost and made the considered decision to obey the Lord. We are thankful to God for the amazing power of His gospel as well as the sacrificial work done by our Filipino brethren amidst unbelievable adversity.
Again, I appreciate so very much the support in every way that made this trip possible as it has other trips in the past. Without the financial support so graciously provided by many brethren, these trips could not take place. Without so many prayers being offered by faithful saints, they could not be as fruitful, nor as safe. Thank you again for all of your help and encouragement. The Lord willing, my next trip to the Philippines will begin in late October or early November to do work centering in northeastern Luzon and on Negros. Some of that work had to be postponed from the trip I had to cancel last April. God bless!
The weather for most of my time on Luzon has not been cooperative. When I was in Manila to begin the trip, there was a weak typhoon moving through. The rain was light, but almost constant. When I flew out to Cebu, there was some doubt whether or not the flight would be cancelled due to the weather. When I flew back to Angeles City (Clark), there was heavy rain and some wind that made the last part of the flight somewhat bumpy. Yesterday’s bus ride from Angeles City was amidst very heavy rain as the bus had to go through some areas that cars stalled and flooded. Last night, the wind came up some, but still not to the level of a typical March day in Oklahoma :-). Today, our taxi rides going to and returning from Caloocan were in rain that varied from light to heavy. Most of the day during the gospel meeting, the rain was very heavy with drops of water getting through much of the roof that is not yet complete. I dodged most of it but got wet from the leaks at times.
Despite the rain, we had a good number present including the members of the local church as well as a good number of visitors -- mostly Roman Catholic. I began with a lesson on “Godly Living in an Ungodly World” from 1 Peter 2. The next lesson was “From What Seed Is Salvation” that took 1 Peter 1:22-25 as its starting point. An invitation was then extended by Ely Ebuenga and two came to be baptized into Christ.
After lunch, the rain increased even more, so preaching amidst the invading water was a real challenge. I taught a brief lesson on “Marriage, Christ and the Church” from Ephesians 5:22-33 emphasizing the importance and identity of the New Testament church. A question/answer period was then offered that went on for a long time -- I believe it was over a hour and a half. Most questions showed the predominantly Catholic background of the visitors. They seemed very interested and appeared to accept the points made in conflict with Roman Catholic doctrine and practice. They asked me to come again and study further.
If the weather keeps up at this level, our schedule for tomorrow is in danger because it is even further away than today’s venue. We pray the weather will settle down and make it possible for us to go on as planned.
My short stay in Angeles City ended today. After holding the gospel meeting yesterday with one congregation (where Lordy Salunga labors), I worshipped with the Mabalacat church. Brother Ric Darasin works with the congregation of about 25 to 30 people. “Having Your Conduct Honorable” was the lesson for the Bible study. During the time for the sermon, I preached on “Confusing the Issue: The Lawyer’s Problem” from Luke 10:25 and following. This was the first time that I had ever met with that congregation. They were very kind in spirit, active in work and attentive to the teaching.
After lunch, Lordy and Ric took me to the bus terminal where I caught a bus to Manila. After about 2 1/2 hours (about half of it spent in Manila traffic), we arrived at the Pasay terminal and I caught a taxi to the hotel. As Philippine bus trips go, this one was relatively easy.
The Lord willing, we will begin preaching to the far north end of the metro Manila area tomorrow. Ely Ebuenga will be going with me to those places as he labers in that area. Thanks for your continued prayers for these efforts.
No report was sent on Friday night due to the travel and my level of exhaustion, so I will start with that. The Baptist preacher who seemed to be getting very close to the kingdom was called by his supervisor and chastised for attending the gospel meeting. He was instructed not to return and he did not, but he told those who invited him that he knows we are teaching the truth. He also said he was “counting the cost” at this point. That makes two on this trip who are at the same point of decision.
The lectures started with a lesson on “Having Your Conduct Honorable.” After a song or two, I gave a second lesson on “N.T. Baptism vs. Denominational Baptism.” We then had a question and answer period until I had to leave for the airport. Jonathan Carino preached after I left in order to give a final lesson closing the meeting.
The flight from Cebu to Clark (the old USAF landing strip in Angeles City), went smoothly. Once in Angeles, I took Lordy and another brother to eat. Igot back to the hotel after 9pm and was ready to crash.
Today, we had an all-day gospel meeting with the congregation where Lordy Salunga labors. I did all of the preaching, but brother Jerry led songs between each lesson, giving me an opportunity to collect my thoughts for the next lesson. I began with “God’s Use of the Prophets” and then gave a short lesson on “Salvation & the Seed” before the church. After lunch, I gave two additional lessons -- “Distinguish Between the Two Covenants” and “Salvation & Saul.” The lessons were well received but none were baptized, as was also true yesterday.
It was truly an unexpected pleasure to see my old friend, Mel Tacbod, with us at the meeting today. A few years ago, I was certain that Mel would be leaving this world within a very short time. He has battled problems with his health from cancer and other issues. Yet, he continues on as a great example of faith, serving the Lord with great strength even those his physical body is weakened to the point that he is confined to a wheelchair. I cannot describe how encouraged I was to see him today!
This was an easier day than I have had since I started my work here last week. Each day before has required departure at an early time, thus an even earlier wake-up time, after a night of sleep that started very late. Last night, I went to sleep early and did not awake until 7:20 -- and it felt great! Instead of a three hour drive to the venue, it took us less than 15 minutes to get to the building of the congregation here in metro Cebu.
The church here in Cebu City provided their building for a gospel meeting of a day and a half. I have been with this congregation many time going back over more than 10 years. Jonathan Carino and his family work with the congregation here and they assemble on the third floor of a building in the midst of the city’s center. The first lesson of today was an extended study (almost 2 hours) of faith that I call, “Lord I Believe, Help My Unbelief” from Mark 9:17-24. We then had some singing followed by the lunch break.
After lunch, I gave the lesson requested on the inspiration of the Scripture, “God’s Use of the Prophets,” detailing the Bible’s claim to be the product of verbal inspiration wherein God controlled the exact message He wanted to give by controlling the word that expressed that message. Jack Jaco then gave a sermon in the dialect on “The New Testament Church.” We then studied a lesson on “Repentance & Its Works” in an effort to show what true repentance is and what changes it brings to the life of the sinner. Roy Matta then gave a lesson on “Faith & Works.”
We then offered a brief question/answer session. A visiting Baptist preacher asked me to explain Romans 4:4-5. I pointed out the context dealing with the fact that Paul is showing how Abraham was not saved by circumcision or works of the old law, as the Jews prided themselves as being God’s chosen ones through these things. Instead, he was justified by faith before the law ever came and before he was circumcised. We then noted that Abraham was also not saved at the point of initial faith as that took place all the way back in Genesis 12, whereas him being pronounced justified by faith happened in Genesis 15:6. Instead, Abraham was saved by a dependence on God (faith) which involved his continued obedience to God (leaving Ur to sojourn in Canaan, worshipping God, building altars and sacrificing to God and in other ways of doing as God commanded). We noted that this is in keeping with Paul’s introduction and conclusion to the book, presenting the gospel as unto “obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5 cf. 16:26). It was obvious that the man was struck by the point of the passage as he saw it in its context, rather than pulled out of the context as done in his Baptist training.
This ended my time for today’s study, but Jonathan continued preaching in the dialect until 6pm while I returned to the hotel. The Lord willing, we will have another half day of teaching tomorrow before I must fly out to Angeles City.
This was the last day of the lectures in Bogo City. When yesterday’s lectures concluded, Ron had largely lost his voice. By this morning, he could not speak above a whisper and did not feel well, so he stayed at the hotel to rest in an effort to recover before he leaves tomorrow to preach in New Zealand. So, I ended up giving 4 lessons today and Jonathan Carino presented 2 lessons.
We again drove almost 3 hours to reach Bogo City. When we arrived, I started with a lesson on “Repentance” showing its place in the salvation of the sinner. Jonathan followed with a lesson on “The New Testament Church,” including an introductory section on the seed principle -- that the seed reproduces after its own kind in spiritual things just as in earthly things.
We then had a 20-30 minute question/answer period where another Baptist preacher tried to uphold the “faith only” doctrine. He asked many of the same questions we had answered the previous day as well as in the lessons just completed while he was outside talking. It gave me the opportunity to repeat the same ground already covered and further impress that teaching on the hearers. Since the man was also somewhat belligerent, it also left his views badly represented as he turned off the bulk of the audience, including those who might have agreed with his doctrine. When I pressed him as to whether he could “amen” 1 Peter 3:21 (“baptism now saves us”), he evaded for a while and then finally said, “Amen” to it. Once he realized what he had done, he tried to retract it, but the point had already been made. It is always good to have opponents that help you out!
The afternoon session began with my lesson on “Who Is A Christian?” examining the context of the three passages using the word “Christian” to see the characteristics given. Jonathan followed with a lesson on “Grace, Faith & Obedience” showing how all work together in the salvation of the sinner. I then preached a shortened form of “Confusing the Issue” from Luke 10:25 and following to show that the lawyer questioning Jesus could understand what he needed to does to inherit eternal life, but confused the issue to justify himself. Application was made to the clarity of truth on all points dealing with our salvation and the effort to confuse the issue by those who reject that truth. I then gave a final lesson on “Counting the Cost” before the invitation was extended.
At first, two souls (one man and one woman) came to confess their faith and be baptized into Christ. After their confessions, another young lady with a small child expressed her desire to be baptized for the remission of her sins. So, the three were taken to be baptized. However, the good results did not end there. The Baptist preacher who was so strongly defending the doctrines of “faith only” and “once saved, always saved” made a public statement at the close. He said he was now convinced that we had taught the truth on all of the subjects and he was counting the cost before making the commitment to obey the gospel! He asked me to pray for him that he might have the courage needed to obey. I told him that I will do so and that I trusted he would soon make that decision and be baptized into Christ.
Since we did not leave Bogo until after 5:30pm, we did not get back to my hotel until late. So, I had a sandwich from room service while sending out this report and then I will get ready for the day and a half of lectures that will start tomorrow in Cebu City, the Lord willing. Thank you for keeping this effort in your prayers to God.
Our day started with waking a little after 5am this morning. Following breakfast, we immediately left for Bogo City at the north end of Cebu Island. A number of denominational preachers and other people had asked for further studies. I have preached there on at least five previous occasions, maybe more. Ron Halbrook has also preached there numerous time. The local preacher, Gil Suico, invited both of us to join in these lectures and we agreed to do so.
The drive up to Bogo is normally about 2 hours. Today, it was about 3 and a half. Traffic was horrible even by Filipino standards. On top of that, we missed one of the Cebu City preachers, Pablo Espinoza, as we tried to pick him up and had to backtrack for him. During the drive, I tried to avert my eyes from the happenings on the road as it tends to cause my constant fear to be interrupted only by moments of outright panic! This averting of the eyes was made even more difficult by the fact that I rode in the front passenger seat -- an experience of truly coming close to God. By the time we got to the venue, it was an hour and a half after the intended starting time. We made up for some of the time by eliminating breaks and having a shortened lunch break.
My lesson on “God’s Use of Prophets” started the lectures as we noticed and emphasized the Bible’s teaching on the verbal inspiration of Scripture. Ron followed with the first two lessons in his six lesson series on “Authority.” After the lunch break, I presented a lesson on “Salvation & Saul” showing that Paul (then called “Saul”) was initially saved from his sins at the point of baptism, not by faith only on the Damascus road as taught by many denominations. Ron followed with the third lesson on “Authority.”
We then had a question/answer period for almost one hour to end today’s session. Most of the time was taken by a Baptist preacher’s questions seeking to say that baptism is not essential in order to be saved, but is an act of obedience after baptism. He asked me to explain Romans 10:1-13 which I gladly did. I noted the fact that Paul addressed the problem of Jews who had rejected Jesus as the Christ, thus failing to believe. Paul clearly started for the point they were at and taught them that salvation was not through the Old Testament law of Moses, but through Christ. He urged them to believe that gospel teaching. Without that faith, they could not be saved. Regardless of what action the may do, there is no way that could be saved without first believing. I then paralleled that to Acts 8:35-38 where Philip, asked by the eunuch what hindered him baptized, said “If you believe you may.” It would have done the Ethiopian no good to be baptized without first believing, nor would there be any authority to baptize him if he had not first believed. Hence, I noted Paul in Romans 10 simply taught the same thing Philip taught in Acts 8 -- that faith must precede obedience to the gospel of Christ.
I then asked him if he would explain to me 1 Peter 3:21 (“baptism does also now save us”). He started to say he knew what it said, but it was his belief that baptism was not for our salvation. I told him I knew what he believed, but that was not what I asked. I noted that I had gone verse by verse through Romans 10:1-13 to show what the text taught and asked him to show us how 1 Peter 3:21 taught the same thing he teaches. He tried to escape it several times, but was brought right back to the text until he finally admitted he could not explain the passage. He was then asked to go through James 2:24-26 and show how that harmonized with the doctrine of salvation by faith only. He said it dealt with pretended faith, not real faith, so I asked him to show me that from the Bible verses. He finally admitted he could not show such, but maybe he could by tomorrow. He then asked 2 or 3 questions to clarify points Rom had made, but took no issue at all with the explanations. I have seen the man at our lectures before and am happy to see him coming back and trying to defend his doctrine. If he keeps on, I can see him finally coming to the truth. The same thing has happened with numerous other faithful preachers who were once denominational preachers. Please pray for him.
Our return trip to Cebu City again took us almost 3 hours, filled with fear and trembling as in all road adventures here in the Philippines (blind passing on a two-lane road, vehicles so close that you could easily touch them out the window, congestion you would not believe, near misses of pedestrians crossing the highway in the midst of heavy traffic, etc.). We finally got to our supper at 8pm and then got to work on lessons for tomorrow’s lectures. We start again at about 5am tomorrow so we can be fully ready when breakfast opens at 6am. The Lord willing, we will again leave for Bogo City as soon as we finish breakfast.
Atoy Franco picked me up at 7:30am this morning and we proceeded to the New Bilibid prison facility again. After a little less than one hour of driving, we arrived at the RDC (Rehabilitation Diagnostic Center) which is the intake facility for the national prison. Kenneth Pastor had not yet arrived with the passes, so Atoy started asking Bible questions which is what Atoy always does if we have any time. He is so hungry to learn and grow in his knowledge of the word that it is a real joy to be with him.
After Willie Pastor led another song, I was asked to give the lesson for study. I preached on “Having Honorable Conduct” from 1 Peter 2:11-12. We emphasized the need to have a sojourner’s attitude towards this world, purify ourselves from ungodly conduct, and actively oppose the evil world that surrounds us. Willie interpreted the lesson into Tagalog so that all could understand it.
At the close of the service, we found out that 4 had been baptized the previous day. When the visitors were asked whether any of them visitors were desiring to be baptized, three said they were convinced of the need, but not fully ready to commit to do so. We pray for God to be long-suffering and giving them another opportunity to obey before it is forever too late.
After lunch, we went to Paranaque where I preached in the Sunday service of the congregation meeting in Jimmy Batung’s home. Jimmy has been very active and effective in reaching his family with the gospel. I preached of “Earthly vs. Heavenly Treasures.” There were ten present plus one visiting view via Skype from the South Island of New Zealand. He is a son-in-law of Jimmy that was baptized while home and now is trying to reach others with the gospel.
The Lord willing, I fly to Cebu tomorrow preparing to start the work there on Tuesday. I will probably not give a report tomorrow since it will be a travel day with no preaching schedule.
The trip from Oklahoma City to Manila went well. We were late leaving OKC on Wednesday, so I had only 30 minutes from the time of our landing in Detroit to make the connections for the flight to Tokyo. After arrival in Tokyo (Thursday afternoon local time), I had less than one hour to clear the security check and catch the flight to Manila. Despite the close timing, everything went smoothly with the travel as well as being my shortest wait ever to clear immigrations and customs in Manila. I made it to the hotel Thursday night about an hour earlier than I normally arrive.
After a day of much needed rest on Friday, we began the work in Muntinlupa this morning at the New Bilibid prison. Rody Gumpad and Ely Ebunga picked me up at the hotel about 7:45. Though I thought we had clearance to have a full day of lectures today, it ended up that we had only a half day of lectures. I taught on “The Strong Life” from Ephesians 6:10-17. The lesson emphasized the facts that true and abiding strength is found only in the Lord, that it demands equipping ourselves with the whole armor of God, and that we must then implement that preparation by taking a stand for and with the truth. We dealt with how one must destroy the old man of sin in the weakness of fleshly lusts to become a new creature in Christ finding strength through the power of God’s will abiding in our thoughts and every activity. Kenneth Pastor did the interpreting of the lesson into Tagalog.
Rody Gumpad followed with two abbreviated lessons on “The True Church” and “God’s One Way for All.” After the lessons, an invitation was extended and one young man came forward to confess his faith in Christ and be baptized into Him. When everyone else had left the venue, those working in this effort discussed the challenges facing the work. There have been several problems that have arisen causing much difficulty. We hope those difficulties have now been overcome and the work of the Lord can continue to grow.
Thanks again to all of you for the support in prayers and provisions. May the Lord richly bless you as you labor in His service.
The weather for most of my time on Luzon has not been cooperative. When I was in Manila to begin the trip, there was a weak typhoon moving through. The rain was light, but almost constant. When I flew out to Cebu, there was some doubt whether or not the flight would be cancelled due to the weather. When I flew back to Angeles City (Clark), there was heavy rain and some wind that made the last part of the flight somewhat bumpy. Yesterday’s bus ride from Angeles City was amidst very heavy rain as the bus had to go through some areas that cars stalled and flooded. Last night, the wind came up some, but still not to the level of a typical March day in Oklahoma :-). Today, our taxi rides going to and returning from Caloocan were in rain that varied from light to heavy. Most of the day during the gospel meeting, the rain was very heavy with drops of water getting through much of the roof that is not yet complete. I dodged most of it but got wet from the leaks at times.
After lunch, the rain increased even more, so preaching amidst the invading water was a real challenge. I taught a brief lesson on “Marriage, Christ and the Church” from Ephesians 5:22-33 emphasizing the importance and identity of the New Testament church. A question/answer period was then offered that went on for a long time -- I believe it was over a hour and a half. Most questions showed the predominantly Catholic background of the visitors. They seemed very interested and appeared to accept the points made in conflict with Roman Catholic doctrine and practice. They asked me to come again and study further.
My short stay in Angeles City ended today. After holding the gospel meeting yesterday with one congregation (where Lordy Salunga labors), I worshipped with the Mabalacat church. Brother Ric Darasin works with the congregation of about 25 to 30 people. “Having Your Conduct Honorable” was the lesson for the Bible study. During the time for the sermon, I preached on “Confusing the Issue: The Lawyer’s Problem” from Luke 10:25 and following. This was the first time that I had ever met with that congregation. They were very kind in spirit, active in work and attentive to the teaching.
No report was sent on Friday night due to the travel and my level of exhaustion, so I will start with that. The Baptist preacher who seemed to be getting very close to the kingdom was called by his supervisor and chastised for attending the gospel meeting. He was instructed not to return and he did not, but he told those who invited him that he knows we are teaching the truth. He also said he was “counting the cost” at this point. That makes two on this trip who are at the same point of decision.
This was an easier day than I have had since I started my work here last week. Each day before has required departure at an early time, thus an even earlier wake-up time, after a night of sleep that started very late. Last night, I went to sleep early and did not awake until 7:20 -- and it felt great! Instead of a three hour drive to the venue, it took us less than 15 minutes to get to the building of the congregation here in metro Cebu.
After lunch, I gave the lesson requested on the inspiration of the Scripture, “God’s Use of the Prophets,” detailing the Bible’s claim to be the product of verbal inspiration wherein God controlled the exact message He wanted to give by controlling the word that expressed that message. Jack Jaco then gave a sermon in the dialect on “The New Testament Church.” We then studied a lesson on “Repentance & Its Works” in an effort to show what true repentance is and what changes it brings to the life of the sinner. Roy Matta then gave a lesson on “Faith & Works.”
We then offered a brief question/answer session. A visiting Baptist preacher asked me to explain Romans 4:4-5. I pointed out the context dealing with the fact that Paul is showing how Abraham was not saved by circumcision or works of the old law, as the Jews prided themselves as being God’s chosen ones through these things. Instead, he was justified by faith before the law ever came and before he was circumcised. We then noted that Abraham was also not saved at the point of initial faith as that took place all the way back in Genesis 12, whereas him being pronounced justified by faith happened in Genesis 15:6. Instead, Abraham was saved by a dependence on God (faith) which involved his continued obedience to God (leaving Ur to sojourn in Canaan, worshipping God, building altars and sacrificing to God and in other ways of doing as God commanded). We noted that this is in keeping with Paul’s introduction and conclusion to the book, presenting the gospel as unto “obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5 cf. 16:26). It was obvious that the man was struck by the point of the passage as he saw it in its context, rather than pulled out of the context as done in his Baptist training.
The afternoon session began with my lesson on “Who Is A Christian?” examining the context of the three passages using the word “Christian” to see the characteristics given. Jonathan followed with a lesson on “Grace, Faith & Obedience” showing how all work together in the salvation of the sinner. I then preached a shortened form of “Confusing the Issue” from Luke 10:25 and following to show that the lawyer questioning Jesus could understand what he needed to does to inherit eternal life, but confused the issue to justify himself. Application was made to the clarity of truth on all points dealing with our salvation and the effort to confuse the issue by those who reject that truth. I then gave a final lesson on “Counting the Cost” before the invitation was extended.
At first, two souls (one man and one woman) came to confess their faith and be baptized into Christ. After their confessions, another young lady with a small child expressed her desire to be baptized for the remission of her sins. So, the three were taken to be baptized. However, the good results did not end there. The Baptist preacher who was so strongly defending the doctrines of “faith only” and “once saved, always saved” made a public statement at the close. He said he was now convinced that we had taught the truth on all of the subjects and he was counting the cost before making the commitment to obey the gospel! He asked me to pray for him that he might have the courage needed to obey. I told him that I will do so and that I trusted he would soon make that decision and be baptized into Christ.
The drive up to Bogo is normally about 2 hours. Today, it was about 3 and a half. Traffic was horrible even by Filipino standards. On top of that, we missed one of the Cebu City preachers, Pablo Espinoza, as we tried to pick him up and had to backtrack for him. During the drive, I tried to avert my eyes from the happenings on the road as it tends to cause my constant fear to be interrupted only by moments of outright panic! This averting of the eyes was made even more difficult by the fact that I rode in the front passenger seat -- an experience of truly coming close to God. By the time we got to the venue, it was an hour and a half after the intended starting time. We made up for some of the time by eliminating breaks and having a shortened lunch break.
We then had a question/answer period for almost one hour to end today’s session. Most of the time was taken by a Baptist preacher’s questions seeking to say that baptism is not essential in order to be saved, but is an act of obedience after baptism. He asked me to explain Romans 10:1-13 which I gladly did. I noted the fact that Paul addressed the problem of Jews who had rejected Jesus as the Christ, thus failing to believe. Paul clearly started for the point they were at and taught them that salvation was not through the Old Testament law of Moses, but through Christ. He urged them to believe that gospel teaching. Without that faith, they could not be saved. Regardless of what action the may do, there is no way that could be saved without first believing. I then paralleled that to Acts 8:35-38 where Philip, asked by the eunuch what hindered him baptized, said “If you believe you may.” It would have done the Ethiopian no good to be baptized without first believing, nor would there be any authority to baptize him if he had not first believed. Hence, I noted Paul in Romans 10 simply taught the same thing Philip taught in Acts 8 -- that faith must precede obedience to the gospel of Christ.
I then asked him if he would explain to me 1 Peter 3:21 (“baptism does also now save us”). He started to say he knew what it said, but it was his belief that baptism was not for our salvation. I told him I knew what he believed, but that was not what I asked. I noted that I had gone verse by verse through Romans 10:1-13 to show what the text taught and asked him to show us how 1 Peter 3:21 taught the same thing he teaches. He tried to escape it several times, but was brought right back to the text until he finally admitted he could not explain the passage. He was then asked to go through James 2:24-26 and show how that harmonized with the doctrine of salvation by faith only. He said it dealt with pretended faith, not real faith, so I asked him to show me that from the Bible verses. He finally admitted he could not show such, but maybe he could by tomorrow. He then asked 2 or 3 questions to clarify points Rom had made, but took no issue at all with the explanations. I have seen the man at our lectures before and am happy to see him coming back and trying to defend his doctrine. If he keeps on, I can see him finally coming to the truth. The same thing has happened with numerous other faithful preachers who were once denominational preachers. Please pray for him.
Atoy Franco picked me up at 7:30am this morning and we proceeded to the New Bilibid prison facility again. After a little less than one hour of driving, we arrived at the RDC (Rehabilitation Diagnostic Center) which is the intake facility for the national prison. Kenneth Pastor had not yet arrived with the passes, so Atoy started asking Bible questions which is what Atoy always does if we have any time. He is so hungry to learn and grow in his knowledge of the word that it is a real joy to be with him.
After lunch, we went to Paranaque where I preached in the Sunday service of the congregation meeting in Jimmy Batung’s home. Jimmy has been very active and effective in reaching his family with the gospel. I preached of “Earthly vs. Heavenly Treasures.” There were ten present plus one visiting view via Skype from the South Island of New Zealand. He is a son-in-law of Jimmy that was baptized while home and now is trying to reach others with the gospel.
